Letter from DFL Chair Mike Erlandson

[katinmn]

Dear DFLers,

After listening to John Kerry's honorable speech this afternoon, I want to take a moment to thank you for all of your hard work. Today is bittersweet for all of us. Though as a nation we lost in our efforts to elect John Kerry and John Edwards, as Minnesotans we won in more ways than one. It is because of you that the DFL's unprecedented grassroots campaign rocked Minnesota, and over 100,000 volunteers delivered decisive Minnesota victories for House Democrats, John Kerry, and the spirit of all Minnesota DFLers -- including a four-point Minnesota victory for John Kerry and a 13-seat gain in the Minnesota State House.

Your enthusiasm and activism throughout this campaign has been absolutely without precedent, and DFLers like you worked tirelessly through the final hours of the campaign to get out the vote for John Kerry and the DFL candidates for State House. Because of you, we turned out the vote in Minnesota at a record-setting 78% -- the highest turnout since 1960. In doing so, together we closed the gap in the State House and sent a clear message to the nation and the world that here in Minnesota we put our faith in hope, not in fear; in the future, not the past; and in people not the powerful elite.

The Minnesota DFL Party this year had more than 20 field offices in small towns and communities across this state to reach out to Minnesota voters - more than double the amount in the 2002 campaign - including offices in Albert Lea, Austin, Bemidji, Blaine, Brooklyn Park, Burnsville, Duluth, Faribault, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Hopkins, Little-Canada-Roseville, Mankato, Minneapolis, Moorhead, North Branch, Northfield, Rochester, St. Cloud, St. Paul, Virginia, and Willmar.

Minnesota DFLers engaged early in the campaign and brought new people into the Party, through our field operation and the internet. DFL staff worked throughout the past two years to build a new web site and email system that ultimately helped more than 90,000 people like you stay connected with one another - and therefore, more involved - during the course of the campaign.

Your early and steady efforts throughout the campaign paid off. More than 56,000 Minnesotans attended precinct caucuses in May, many of whom had never attended a caucus before. Two-thirds of the delegates to the DFL State Convention were new or age 35 or younger, and a quarter of the DFL's delegates to the Democratic National Convention were 35 or younger. Many of you even helped send a bus of 40 Minnesota college students to the Democratic National Convention in Boston as they stopped to campaign in the key battleground states along the way.

With your help, on Election Day alone our record-breaking grassroots army contacted more than 1 million voters through phone calls and door-to-door Get-Out-the-Vote activities.

In addition to thanking you for your contribution to this important campaign, I want to take a moment to thank all of the hard-working staff and campaign leadership of the DFL Coordinated Campaign. Particularly, I want to thank the staff of the Minnesota Kerry Campaign, who through their efforts helped all of our DFL candidates up and down the ticket. I'd like to also thank the staff of the DFL House Caucus and Representative Matt Entenza for helping to lead us to victory in the State House. Also, I'd like to thank the staff of the State DFL Party who worked tirelessly with all of our campaigns to help secure victory.

Lastly, I'd like to thank all the DFL-endorsed candidates who sought to represent Minnesotans - especially Teresa Daly, Leigh Pomeroy, Deborah Watts, and Patty Wetterling.

This is not the end of our fight, but rather, a strong and determined beginning. Together, we will fight for a stronger America here at home - and an America that is more respected in the world. We will never give up that fight, and together we will continue building on this momentum and this effort as we look to the future. Stay with us, stay involved, and stay active.

Stand up, Keep Fighting,

Mike Erlandson, State Chair
Minnesota DFL Party

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[ISUGRADIA]

1. Let Kennedy run for senate in 06

Dayton will beat him and Wetterling can take the open seat

[Carolab]

2. Yes and we must ALL WORK VERY HARD FOR MARK

HE HAS BEEN VERY COURAGEOUS